The School Budget Crisis

The following is a difficult and painful commentary for me, a career-long public educator. Therefore, before I begin, I will say a few things that objectors will forget in just a few paragraphs. I believe in the importance of extracurricular programs as a means to prepare our next generation of students. Though I was a coach, of four different sports, over twenty-five years, I do not value athletics over the other extracurricular programs. Yes, I have a soft spot in my heart for sports, but my heart is not driving the commentary that follows.

In many districts in the area in which I live, school boads are planning to severely curtail extracurricular programs, and to severely reduce teaching, support, and facilities staffs to try to balance their respective budgets. Naturally, the music boosters, or the sports boosters, or one support group or another is descending upon board meetings to wax lyrical about the importance of one program or another.

My unpopular question is this: honestly, what do you want the various boards to do? In many places, the deficit is in the millions. Millions of dollars are not easily trimmed in any district.

Cut administrators, some will say. Okay, let's suggest for argument's sake that a central office can trim four administrative jobs, at a savings of 250,000 dollars per employee. We just saved a million dollars, right? The respective duties can be divvied up among the administraotrs being retained, and the jobs will get done somehow.

Now the deficit is down to 4 or 5 million, depending on which local district is being considered. We can raise taxes next. Most districts, at their current millage, can close the deficit by a million or two using the tax increase approach.

What's next? Well, programs, personnel, and programs and personnel. You see, the problem is that even if the popular cuts are made, and the unpopular tax increase is adopted, a large deficit remains. The reduction in expenditures is going to undermine programs one way or another.

One must also consider that my hypothetical situation presumed that central adminstration had four positions to cut, and that each of those expendable postitions are very costly. The hypothetical also presumed that a tax increase is manageable. In some districts, assigning higher taxes won't result in revenues if the people can't come up with the money. Projected revenues will suggest a balanced budget that will never materialize. Where will the money come from then?

A certain population of students necessitates a certain number of teachers, and management of facilities necessitates a certain number of people to run them.

Cuts must be made. Is band more important than wrestling? Are business courses more important than art courses? I don't want a fully funded music program if it means we will have no arts. I don't want a fully funded athletic program if it means we will have no business courses.

Local boards need to make provisions for next year, and the next. Large tax increases year after year aren't the answer. I don't know an easy fix, but i know that states had better try to work with local education agencies to devise a long term management approach.

Even if the economy rebounds quickly, though that isn't likely, the increased revenues will not benefit many districts that are burdened with limited tax bases. Love of music, sports, the arts, or a full day kndergarten are well and good, but hearts are not going to solve this problem. Reason is needed at this time, not emotion.